TELEVISION REVIEW

Homosexuals in All Their Diversity

By JOHN J. O'CONNOR

Published: October 26, 1996

Begin with a puny budget, considerable resistance and no big names. Add an emotion-laden subject terrain, and the story of ''In the Life,'' a lesbian and gay bimonthly magazine, begins to look like one of those Judy Garland and Mickey Rooney movies in which the scrappy kids decide, against crazy odds, to put on a show.

It wasn't easy, but ''In the Life'' is currently beginning its fifth season on public television, continuing its crusade to, the producers say, ''shatter negative stereotypes of gay men and women so often erroneously presented by mainstream media.'' In the beginning, with John Scagliotti at the production helm, the magazine was given crucial support by Channel 31 in New York, which agreed to become the presenting station.

Now Channel 13 in New York, initially a bit uneasy about the series, has assumed that role, going so far as to provide a prime-time slot. The new season premiere, with Katherine Linton as the crisp host, can be seen tomorrow at 10 P.M. Although Channel 13's presenting role is commendable, there is no financial support involved. ''In the Life'' still has to scramble for funds, with most of its money coming from institutions like the H. van Ameringen Foundation, individuals like Jeffrey B. Soref and contributions from viewers. The payoff: John Catania, the communications director for the series, said that ''In the Life'' was being carried on more than 90 public broadcasting stations, including those in 19 of the top 20 markets.

The magazine tries to be solidly mainstream, and that can mean problems, not just with people who disapprove of homosexuality but with certain gay groups who would prefer to see more militant content. Like heterosexuals, homosexuals are not, and have never been, a single group. Their diversity spans everything from the flamboyant to the prim and proper. ''In the Life'' doesn't ignore the extremes but on the whole steers a careful course through the wide middle. Some of its best pieces have been profiles of gays and lesbians living outside the major urban centers. The message, for all viewers, is variety.

The lead piece tomorrow is ''Gay Politics, '96,'' focused on the Republican convention in San Diego and the role of the Log Cabin Republicans, a group of gay conservatives, in trying to inject gay issues into the party's dialogue. Included is an interview with Representative Steve Gunderson, Republican of Wisconsin, and his lover, Robert Morris. The narrator asserts that Mr. Gunderson decided not to run again this year ''after his friend Newt told him he'd be attacked as a gay man.'' All concerned, conservative and liberal, agree that the influence of the radical right must be stemmed.

Once again ''In the Life'' proves most effective working in miniature. As the actor Harvey Fierstein, master of ceremonies at the fifth international gathering of the Gay and Lesbian Association of Choruses, in Tampa, Fla., puts it, ''We don't celebrate enough.''

The point is underlined with two profiles. One looks at Bruhs Mero and Gean Harwood, music lovers and musicians who lived together for 60 years and liked to bill themselves as ''The Two Oldest Gay Men in America.'' The second goes to Cherry Grove, a largely homosexual community on Fire Island, L.I., to interview Peter Worth, a lesbian who fled Nazi Germany in the 1930's and has been spending as much time as possible on Fire Island since 1946. Now in her 80's, she says simply: ''I like to be surrounded by my own kind. I lived what I thought was a normal life.''

Over on commercial television this season, the big buzz is over whether the Ellen DeGeneres character on ''Ellen'' will come out as a lesbian. It is astonishing to think that just five years ago such a sea change would have been unthinkable in a business simmering with aggressive protest groups and nervous advertisers. Have the times changed? Consider a headline on a cover of Entertainment Weekly: ''Should Ellen join the 22 gay characters appearing on prime time?'' It's a new era. And the determination of ''In the Life'' to inform and educate is playing a major role.